About

$1,191

pledged of $500 goal

24

backers

I'd like to create a real-time, postcard-based travelogue website of my walk across Spain on the Camino de Santiago de Compostela. But I can't do it without you.

The Way of St. James, or the Camino de Santiago de Compostela, is a system of historic pilgrimage routes. Each path ends in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, where the apostle James's relics are believed to be kept. Thousands of pilgrims walk the Camino every year. One trail in particular, called Camino Frances, is ~785 km, and it hosts the most pilgrims annually. This summer, I'll be one of them. I will carry everything I need for approximately five weeks of walking in a single backpack. Here is a map of the trail I'll be taking:

I'll be going alone. While I doubt I'll be at a lack for human interaction, as there will certainly be many other pilgrims on the trail with me, I'd like to send you postcards from my pilgrimage and collect all the messages I write to you on a website, ultimately building a travelogue of the Camino that everyone can access.

In short, I want to upload the messages I write you on the postcards to a website in real-time and build a comprehensive travelogue of the Camino along my walk down it.

Here's a more detailed, step-by-step description of how I will write and build this travelogue, titled El peregrino del camino:

1: If you pledge as little as $3 (and give me your mailing address, too), I will send you a postcard, complete with a unique message about the Camino written specifically to you, from somewhere along my pilgrimage. If you pledge $10, you'll receive two postcards. If you pledge more, you'll receive even more postcards with more unique travelogue entries.

2: On each postcard, I'll write you a unique note about something I experienced that day as I walked. It could be a description of how beautiful the landscape is, a definition of a new Spanish word I learned, a story another pilgrim told me, a recommendation for a restaurant or alburgue (pilgrim hostel), a prayer. Who knows what the note will be; it could be--almost--anything. If you pledge $100 or more, you can even tell me what to write to you about.

3: When I write your message, I'll scan the postcard and the note I wrote you, and then I'll take a picture of your card on the trail at the exact spot I wrote your message.

4: I'll then upload your message and the picture of your card on the Camino (don't worry--I won't display your address) to a website alongside the exact GPS coordinates of the photograph. This location, then, will be dedicated to you in the travelogue. Every postcard I send will be one more entry in the travelogue.

5: The website will begin empty at the beginning of my pilgrimage, and by the time my trip is over, together, we will have built a real-time, comprehensive, web-based travelogue of the Camino de Santiago together.

The more backers I receive, the more detailed this travelogue can become because that will mean I can write to you about more sights to see, flavors to taste and enjoy, places to stay, accounts from other pilgrims, etc.

In the end, you'll be able to hold a physical, personalized, unique memento from my pilgrimage, and every entry in the travelogue will be dedicated to someone.

Other travelogues of the Camino do exist; however, you must buy many of them in print, they do not tell the story of a single pilgrim's journey, and they weren't made by you. This travelogue, El peregrino del camino, will alleviate these issues. And the best part is that, since it's web-based, anyone can access it.

Regarding how I will spend the finances:Of course, most of your donations will go toward purchasing postcards and postage. I will also need to pay for web hosting and a portable scanner. I plan to use my iPhone for its camera and GPS tracker to take the pictures that include coordinates, so I will also need to pay for international cell phone service. Your backing will not go toward purchasing my flight, meals, accommodations, or any other of my travel expenses. I've already purchased my flight and have the rest of my travel expenses saved.

Support

Select this reward

Pledge $1 or more
About $1.00

If you pledge $1, your name will appear in a special "Thank You" section within the website for my project. It's not quite enough to cover the cost of a postcard and international postage from Spain, but every dollar helps!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $3 or more
About $3

If you pledge $3, I will send you a postcard from my walk, complete with a unique travelogue entry. I will also take a picture with the card on the trail and include GPS coordinates for that picture on your card and on the website.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $125 or more
About $125

If you pledge $125, I will send you ten postcards including ten unique travelogue entries. You'll receive photos of your cards in the travelogue that will come with the GPS coordinates of where they were taken. You can also tell me what to write about on three of your postcards. Additionally, I will create a vlog in which I speak directly to you that will be posted in the travelogue (the subject matter of the vlog is your choice). And I will also give you a personal phone call from somewhere along the Camino.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $200 or more
About $200

If you pledge $200, I will send you fifteen postcards including fifteen unique travelogue entries. You'll receive photos of your cards in the travelogue that will come with the specific geotags of where they were taken. You can also tell me what to write about on five of your postcards. Additionally, I will create three vlogs in which I speak directly to you that will be posted in the travelogue (the subject matter of the vlogs is your choice). I will also give you two personal phone calls from somewhere along the Camino.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $300 or more
About $300

If you pledge $300, I will send you a postcard for every day I am on the entire trip--that means you'll be receiving cards from DFW, Barajas airport in Madrid, as well as cards from every day I walk along the Camino. You'll receive photos of your cards, and these photos will come with the GPS coordinates of where they were taken. You can also tell me what to write about on ten of your postcards, and I'll make five vlogs addressed directly to you that will be posted in the travelogue (again, the subject matter for the vlog is your choice). I will also give you five personal phone calls from somewhere along the Camino.